Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, is calling on a southwest suburban state representative to resign over unspecified misconduct allegations or else face expulsion from their chamber.
Welch cited the findings of a sealed watchdog report as revealing “outrageous, unethical, and unbecoming” patterns of behavior by state Rep. Harry Benton, the Plainfield Democrat whom the speaker barred from their party’s caucus meetings in February.
The accusations investigated by Legislative Inspector General Mike McCuskey remain confidential, but sources have told the Sun-Times they include sexual harassment allegations.
Welch — who previously said Benton’s case involved multiple alleged victims but shared no details — announced Wednesday that after receiving McCuskey’s report, he spoke with Benton “and called for his immediate resignation from the Illinois House of Representatives.
“If he does not resign, we will initiate the process of expelling him from the House,” Welch said in a statement. “Allegations of misconduct are taken with the utmost seriousness, and I am grateful to those who came forward and trusted our office to listen, support them, and ensure their concerns were handled appropriately.”
On Thursday, Benton’s district director said their office had no comment. The two-term representative couldn’t be reached directly.
Gov. JB Pritzker said he had not been briefed on the investigation, ”but I take the speaker at his word. He wouldn’t call for the resignation unless there was something, or some things, in that report that are very, very serious.”
“When the speaker of the House has received a report from the LIG, the Legislative Inspector General, and that report has led him to call for the resignation of a member or the possible expulsion of a member — I think we should all take that very seriously, and certainly Rep. Benton ought to take that very seriously,” Pritzker said.
According to Welch, McCuskey recommended that the speaker’s banishment of Benton from caucus meetings and committee assignments should “remain in place permanently.”
McCuskey declined to comment other than to note that under state law, Welch and Benton each have 20 days to formally respond to his findings. McCuskey would then have an additional 30 days to submit a follow-up report to the Legislative Ethics Commission.
None of the case documents can become public without approval from the eight-member, bipartisan commission.
Welch can call for an expulsion vote anytime, which would require a two-thirds majority vote, or 79 House members. Democrats wield a 78-40 supermajority in the chamber. Lawmakers aren’t scheduled to return to Springfield until November.
Benton, who was in the Capitol for legislators’ spring session, is on the ballot for reelection this November after running unopposed in the March primary.
His Republican challenger, Gabby Shanahan, said she’s “running to bring honesty and integrity back to our district… This November, voters have a better choice: more of the same, or a new generation of leadership built on integrity, accountability, and service.”
The House Republican Organization blasted Benton as “a disgrace.”
“One way or another, he won’t be a state representative come January,” a statement from the organization read. “He can leave through the front door, or the voters can throw him out in November.”